Renovated Barn by Architype

As Midwesterners, we've mentioned barns a few times, especially in relation to reclaimed wood. Drive down almost any highway between the rust belt cities and you'll notice many abandoned barns. We'd love to see more of these beautiful structures reused, so we were very excited to see this example of a sustainably renovated barn across the sea in England...

Renovated by British firm Architype, the barn houses their offices in Herefordshire. Locally sourced timber was used to fix the structure, the interior uses low-VOC paints, and a biomass heating system fuels the barn. It's so green that the Royal Institute of British Architects honored the design with their annual sustainability award.

The project shows how old structures can be renovated into truly sustainable homes and offices without demolition. For more information, visit RIBA and Architype.